11 - 14 February 2025. Ibadan, Nigeria. The Global Forum for Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAiR) organised a second proposal write shop to target funding opportunities on Forgotten Foods. This follows a first proposal write shop in Winneba (Ghana) in January. The main aim of this meeting was to apply for- The INCiTiS-FOOD Open Call for Local Innovation Hubs Deadline: March 20th, 2025
The INCiTiS-FOOD Open Call aims to attract Local Innovation Hubs (LIHs), small consortia that must comprise a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 legal entities, such as NGOs, cooperatives, and educational institutions. These consortia will co-create and implement innovative solutions tailored to sustainable and circular food systems, fostering collaboration and addressing local food system challenges.
A webinar for Q&A will be held on 5th March - The One planet call for proposals: Mobilizing Children and Youth in the One Planet Network to
Support Implementation of the Global Strategy on Sustainable Consumption and Production
Sustainable Food systems Project proposals should drive meaningful change and support the achievement of the following impacts: - Knowledge and Advocacy: (1) Promote the uptake of SFS Programme Knowledge Hub resources and tools among global and national stakeholders. (2) Represent the
Youth Voice in the shaping of the emerging OPN flagship initiative on leveraging sustainable public procurement to advance sustainable food systems, with a current focus on school meals. (3) Act as a multiplier by supporting the SFS Programme through communication activities (social media). Deadline: March 3rd, 2025
Extract of the program:
10/02 Concept note of the proposal
K-TOMFonio-Project. Ponic Technologies for Developing Human and Poultry Diets from Fonio Seeds and King Tuber Oyster Mushroom
The project shall demonstrate innovative ponic technologies for producing human and poultry diets from forgotten crops such as fonio and KOM at urban and peri-urban environments in Nigeria. The technologies are cost-effective and shall utilize minimal space and time to produce highly nutritious diets in the study environments. The project shall create potential income channels for urban and peri-urban farmers, new research skills for the participating researchers and introduce highly nutritious human and poultry diets to end users.
11/02 Panel discussion: Forgotten foods and the research - private sector nexus
Download the summary (7 pp.)Objective:
- Share examples on how the private sector can take up research outcomes related to Forgotten Foods
- Research priorities
- How to link up with the private finance sector
- Public funding opportunities
Online Speakers:
(International Nutrition and Food experts)
- Dr. Habiba Wassef (MD), ANS (African Nutrition Society) Living Legend of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences ; Health and Nutrition Policy in Sustainable Development ; Chair, National Nutrition Sciences Committee Egypt
- Robert Fungo, President, The Federation of
African Nutrition Societies (FANUS), School of Food Technology, Nutrition
& Bio-Engineering, Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
- Francis Zotor, Professor of Public Health
Nutrition at the Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of
Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. He serves as Vice President of the
International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), a body that oversees
the strategic directions of nutrition across the globe.
- Amos Laar, Professor of Public Health
Nutrition, Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health,
University of Ghana
- Prof. Folake Samuel Community Nutrition, Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics
(University of Ibadan) Nigeria. She Programme director of the Food and Nutrition Society of Nigeria (FNSN), responsible for the BMGF funded Grand Challenge Nigeria Programme - Gloria L. Essilfie (Ph.D), Senior Lecturer,
Postharvest Technology/Food Microbiology, Department of Crop Science,
College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana – presentation boot camp of the Postharvest Innovation Challenge (PIC) funded by the Feed the
Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture. 40 Ghanaian-owned businesses
participated in a bootcamp (22-24 January, Accra). They were selected
among 152 applicants with innovative solutions that promote the
consumption of African indigenous/ neglected and underutilized fruits and
vegetables in Ghana.
- Excused: Prof. Mady Cisse, President African Nutrition Society, Professor Mady CISSE is currently in charge of the Agri-food Industries Continuing Education Laboratory at the Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique (ESP) of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (UCAD) Senegal
Picture: Emily offering Bambara groundnut crackers produced by the food processing lab of IITA
In person speakers
(at IITA Ibadan):
- Owole Fatunbi - Forum for Agricultural
Research in Africa: FARA Forgotten Foods Dgroups / Community of Practice
- Babafemi Oyewole - CEO Pan African Farmers
Organization (PAFO) Kigali, Rwanda
12/02 I-Youth agribusiness
- Presentation (on site) by Noel Mulinganya, IITA Program Manager - Youth Program/Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT).
12/02 Urban agriculture: business for young entrepreneurs?
- Presentation (on site) by Angel Adelaja, CEO, Fresh Direct, Nigeria
13/02 The new Odisha Government scheme on neglected crops and forgotten foods.
- By Dinesh Balam, Program Officer - Policy Advocacy and Coordination - Revitalizing Rainfed Agriculture Network. WASSAN (Watershed Support Services and Activities Network) is the anchoring secretariat of CoFTI (the Coalition of food systems transformation in India initiative).
Download the summary (5 pp.)
13/02 Community of Practice on Africa Forgotten and Underutilized Food Commodities
- By Wole FATUNBI, Lead Specialist: Innovation Systems and Partnerships - Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
Resources:
FAO (2024) Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa: A companion publication for Integrating Africa’s forgotten foods for better nutrition 120 pp.
Indigenous communities across Africa have used several locally adapted crops for millennia, mainly for nutrition, medicinal and ornamental purposes. Unfortunately, many of these crops have been progressively substituted with imported genotypes favoured by industrial agriculture. Pervasive monoculture of the exotic crops and increasingly standardised diets have partly contributed to the utter denigration of the indigenous crops, earning them the appellation of "forgotten crops.”
11-13 February 2025. Lusaka, Zambia. Academic symposium and workshop ‘Traditional foods for the future’
GFAiR policy brief: The Role of Private Sector Investment in Scaling Agricultural Innovations: Focus on Nutrition and Forgotten Foods (4pp.)
- This is an extract of a forthcoming GFAiR Insights - 40 pp.
- GFAiR is currently finalising a GFAiR Insights publication (40 pp.) on the need for agricultural research to reach out to the private (finance) sector.
- The full report includes the example of The INCITIS-FOOD consortium.
- The INCITIS research project and consortium funded by DG RTD exceptionally involves a financial partner to upscale innovation. The African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) is a leading pan-african network of financial and non-financial institutions involved in promoting access to rural and agricultural finance in Africa.
- The INCITIS-FOOD Project is working on improving innovative circular food system in 6 countries across 3 African regions: East (Kenya), West (Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) and Central (Cameroun and Gabon).
- The objective of the eight living labs in six African countries is to map the landscape of food providers, manufacturers, marketers, and consumers and to help identify bottlenecks and challenges that can be addressed by the living labs.
Related event
Many local traditional foods exist that are part of local culture and tradition. They are usually well suited to local agronomic practices and informal value chains and, have great potential to promote nutrition and livelihoods. However, due to specific characteristics of each of these foods and the focus on globally available alternatives, local traditional foods have been understudied. This has hampered their use to promote nutrition and livelihoods within the local context of many LMIC.
To promote traditional foods, a symposium is specifically focusing on local traditional (fermented) foods in Southern Africa.
This symposium covers six topics and their interrelationships:
- Food fermentation: processing and product functionality
- Microbial ecology of the environment and fermented foods
- Food environment, diets and health
- Personal entrepreneurial context
- Value chains and institutions
- Consumer needs and preference
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